Kurt Neumann is the lead singer of the BoDeans, who are on tour celebrating their 40th anniversary. The BoDeans will play a show at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora on Saturday. I had a chance to chat with Neumann ahead of the performance.
(This interview was edited for clarity)
Jason Cregier (JC): When you first organized the BoDeans, did you ever imagine you would still be performing in the band all these years later?
Kurt Neumann (KN): I had no idea I would still be doing this or could still be doing this.
As long as the fans keep coming out to sing these songs with me, I am happy to keep coming out and singing with them.
JC: What is the feeling like of having people know all your songs? Is it heartening?
KN: It absolutely is. If you are from the Midwest, you really like "Still the Night," which is a sing along song we play.
The fans have picked these songs out that mean a lot to them. It was not radio or the industry telling them what it meant to them; they picked what they liked.
JC: You have collaborated with many famous producers, chief among them T Bone Burnett. What was it like collaborating with him?
KN: It was a wonderful experience. He has so much musical knowledge and knowledge of life, too. For me that was great. I loved discussing life and philosophy and how people live. T Bone also has a great understanding of history as well.
Musically, he has great instincts, and he knows that songwriting is at the core of what you are trying to do as a musical artist. It is important to have a producer like that in the studio.
But when you also have someone who is wise in their world knowledge, that makes the experience even better. We could not have picked a better producer to work with, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have collaborated with him.
JC: What kind of music do you like listening to?
KN: I do not listen to pop or rock music. I have lived in that world for so long and played it on stage for many years. Mostly I listen to classical and jazz music at home: Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach’s cello suites or Branford Marsalis playing his music. I also like 1950s jazz records quite a bit. I listen to music that takes me away from rock and pop.
JC: Boy, do we have the station for you. Classical 90.5 WNIU plays classical music 24/7, 365. We also have a weekly jazz show hosted by jazz musician Bobby Broom that airs every Friday night from 7 to 9 on 89.5 WNIJ.
KN: That is for me. I love it. I do not play jazz, so I can just appreciate it. When I listen to rock music, I hear chord structures and analyze it in my own head. It is more pleasurable for me to put on something like Vivaldi in the background and listen to that.
JC: Being from the Milwaukee area, you are familiar with the Stateline. What are some of your favorite places to play in northern Illinois?
KN: Everywhere. For us, much of northern Illinois adopted us as their "hometown band," even though we are from Milwaukee. People show up and sing these songs with us, and it is always a fun time. Northern Illinois is incredibly good to us, and we are grateful.
JC: Kurt, we are grateful you had time to chat with us. Enjoy the 40th anniversary tour, and break a leg.
KN: It is my pleasure. I hope to see you out there singing songs with us. It will be a fun time.
The BoDeans will perform on Saturday, April 11, at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
